Oboe

Maxim Khodyrev

In the orchestra since 2013

Biography
Interview

Maxim Khodyrev was born in 1989 to a musicians’ family. He started to play the oboe at the age of 10: first he studied at the Novosibirsk specialized music school, then he entered the College at the Moscow State Conservatory. In 2008–2013, he studied at the Moscow State Conservatory under Alexey Utkin. As a student, Maxim became a member of the Musica Viva chamber orchestra directed by Alexander Rudin; together with the ensemble, he played much of baroque and classical music, including rarely performed chamber pieces featuring European soloists and conductors.

In 2015–2016, Maxim Khodyrev did his internship at Hochschule Luzern under Ivan Podyomov.

Since 2013, Maxim Khodyrev has been a member of the musicAeterna orchestra. When the orchestra moved to Saint Petersburg, Maxim began combining his work at musicAeterna with engagements at the Perm State Opera and Ballet Theatre.

As a soloist, Maxim Khodyrev has taken part in programmes by Mahler chamber orchestra and Bergen Philharmonic.

Who or what brought you to the world of music?

My father did. He is a violin player, a former student of Zakhar Bron in Novosibirsk. He taught me much and helped me to choose the instrument.

Given a chance, what other instrument would you like to master?

I’ve tried various wind instruments such as the saxophone and the tuba. Oboe, however, feels unique to me: it’s a very complex instrument with a peculiar timbre. I love playing the piano — I used to practice it a lot but noticed that it negatively affected my oboe skills. For some reason, piano and oboe don’t go well together in my case.

Can you imagine being anything else but a musician?

Probably not.

What has been your strongest musical impression?

Mahler’s symphonies, I guess. I started listening to them at the age of 16 or so, and their mood perfectly matched my own emotions at the time. That’s when I probably felt I really wanted to play such music and work in an orchestra.

What do you value the most in working with musicAeterna?

The way music sounds here feels ideal to me. When I was making my first steps in the world of music, there were no recordings I really enjoyed. This orchestra was founded around the same time, and the approach to work here is drastically different. Everyone here feels like a perfectionist and gives their 100%. I wouldn’t even call it “work”; instead, it is the embodiment of one’s full potential.

What is your “desert island” recording?

I’d rather take my instrument with me to a desert island: I would keep practicing there.